Daytime Moon
by Coneflower Adams
Summary: [Updated Dec. 11] What would you do if your dreams in your sleep become reality?
1. Chapter 1: Dream Reality

Daytime Moon  
  
Writer Note: This idea was inspired by a creative genius called Michaela, whose writing I adore.   
  
***  
  
It was so warm, she almost thought it was real.   
"Come on, Callie!" she heard her name called from a distance. Four months ago, the voice was foreign to her, but now it was as familiar as the hair on her head. Someone slung an arm around her shoulder. "We don't want to miss riding the Mouse Trap."  
There he was again. The blonde boy bearing glasses was right there beside her again.  
"Wait for us!" yelled three others that were always there as well.  
Callie knew the four as Dutchy, Specs, Bumlets, and Pie Eater. They'd been a constant in her dreams for the pass four months. She could guess why they were always there, but didn't want to think about it.  
The five hopped on the Mouse Trap, which miraculously had no line. Only a moment later, the ride took off. It lasted a few seconds, but the feeling of excitement stayed. The scene suddenly melted into another part of Coney Island; a part Callie hated - Devil's Cave.  
The fire spewed from the sinister hole in the gray rock. Callie felt a soft hand slip into hers. She looked up, startled.   
"It's all right, Callie. I'm with you." Dutchy gave her a reassuring smile.  
"I need more time." She thought she did. It -had- been only five months. She pulled away from his grasp. "No."  
"Callie, please" Dutchy pleaded.   
She didn't reply, just turned and ran.  
  
Morning wasn't her most favorite time of the day. She once again had a dream with what she fondly named "The Post-Fab Four". Callie rolled over, opened her eyes, and stared out at the quartz clock beside her bed. 4:35...too early to get up...too hazardest to go back to sleep. "I wish I knew why" she mumbled before slipping into sleep again.  
  
"She didn't go inside." Dutchy frowned, as he made his way across the room to his easychair. The room that housed the Post Fab Four was large with wide, colorful stripes painted vertically down the wall. Each boy had his own chair, a different kind for each.  
"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way" Specs said from his swivel chair.  
"How else could we try to get Callie to go into Devil's Cave?" Pie Eater asked in frustration, plopping down on his beanbag chair.  
"I think it's still too early" Bumlets spoke up, defiantly.   
The other three turned their attention to him. "What do you mean?" Dutchy wanted to know.  
Bumlets stood from his armchair and started pacing. "What I mean is, it's been five months since the tragedy she went through."  
"I wish we knew what happen to make her so sad" Dutchy said, sympathetically.   
"Well, we'll never know useless she tells us" Specs informed.  
Pie Eater snorted. "I doubt she'd tell four guys who only appear in her dreams."  
Just then, the alarm on the wall sounded off and the four disappeared in a matter of moments. They melted into view in Central Park.  
"Hey" Callie greeted from behind.  
They turned. "Hey, Callie" they greeted back in unison. "Didn't think we'd see you again today" Bumlets told her.  
"Me neither" Callie replied. "I didn't want to come back today."  
At that saying, Pie Eater, Bumlets, and Specs held back as Dutchy faded away with Callie to a lake side in the park. He had been chosen from the beginning to try to get her into Devil's Cave. He'd spent so much time with her in the Dream World, he'd been the only one she'd talk with so in depth.  
Callie threw a rock in the lake. "You're always here when I need you."  
"Of course, I am and so are the other guys" Dutchy said, glancing at her. She looked so lonely and downtrodden. He wished he could help her more than just leading her into that stupid cave that terrified her. And, he still had no idea how -that- would help too.   
Suddenly, an idea sparked him. He knew he shouldn't say it, but he didn't care by now. Callie needed to know. "Callie" Dutchy called, making sure she was facing him straight on. "You're never alone. We understand you're sad. We don't know why, but we could."  
"What are you talking about?" Callie asked, confused.  
"The four of us, we're real beyond your dreams. We don't forget anything we do with you. We're the same people every time." Dutchy was hurrying in a desperate attempt to cram everything in at once. He could feel she was about to wake up.  
Callie looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language. "I don't understand."  
"We're real" Dutchy got to say before she faded away. 


	2. Chapter 1: Dream Reality

Writer note: sorry this fic is kind of confusing. It's an Alternate Universe fic, so it's suppose to be like that. Hope this chapter makes it a little more clear!   
  
***  
  
"You didn't." That was Specs.   
  
Dutchy shrugged, carelessly. "I had to."   
  
"No, you didn't!" Specs shouted, eyes blazing with frustration and fear.   
  
"The Dream Keepers will find out and they'll have our hides!" Pie added, nervously. "You know what they do to betrayers."   
  
"I do know and I don't care" Dutchy retorted, defiantly. He clenched his fist.   
  
Bumlets observed the conflict from his post on the armchair. He saw something in Dutchy that he'd never seen before - caring. The four knew what caring was; they took care of each other in the Dream World. But, this was different...   
  
"You feel for this girl" he spoke out, quite bluntly.   
  
All motion in the room halted as three heads switched to stare at Bumlets. He continued, "We may be naive to everything else in the Other Realm, but we do know what emotions and feelings are and we are not numb to them."   
  
Beat of silence, then, "He's right" Pie said, looking at the others. "I have this overwhelming feeling to play soccer even though I have no clue what soccer is."   
  
"See." Bumlets pointed to Pie. "That's just like I want to sing and dance - whatever those things are - and just be out there."   
  
"You don't know what it's like out there" Specs claimed, matter-of-factly.   
  
Bumlets smirked at the challenge. "That makes me want to be out there even more."   
  
"It's true" Dutchy finally spoke. "So what if we don't know what's out there. The people who have dreams live in the Other Realm beyond the gray. I want to be Callie's friend." Specs still looked at him in doubt. "Oh, come on! Like you have no desire for something."   
  
For a while, Specs keep his mouth shut - staring heavily at the floor. They could tell he was brooding, and hopefully would crack soon. They stared intently at him until...   
  
"I want to act" he mumbled it so lowly, no one could hear.   
  
"What?" Pie said, almost mocking, holding his ear to hear.   
  
Specs threw his hands up. "I want to act! I don't know why or how, I just do. All I know of acting is you play pretend. Why would I want to do that?"   
  
"Because, like the rest of us, we have a desire from the Other Realm" Bumlets answered.   
  
"Why are we having this conversation when we won't ever leave the Dream World?" Specs asked.   
  
Dutchy stood up. "We could try."   
  
***   
  
Callie drug her feet to the kitchen of her house. Her mind was a boggle of dozens of thoughts...all because she had, had -another- dream with them! One a night was enough, but two?   
  
"Good morning."   
  
Callie snapped her vision from the floor to stare droopy-eyed at her grandmother. "Hi, Grandma" she mumbled and sat down at the round table.   
  
"You seem beat this morning" Grandma said, setting down her fork. "Did you get any sleep?"   
  
"Yeah, I got sleep but I was surely awake in my dreams" Callie replied, heaving. She placed her head in her hands. Grandma rubbed her back. "Goodness, child. What kind of dream would make you feel like this? They must be awfully bad."   
  
"No, not really" Callie started. She sat up straight. "Let me begin from the top." Her Grandma nodded, listening intently. "For four months, these four guys have been appearing in my dreams. We're all friends, but I have no clue who they are. I mean, when I wake up. In my dreams, I know them like old friends - I even know they're names. We're always doing fun stuff like riding roller coasters or playing in a park. But, sometimes, they try to get me to go in this evil looking cave. It scares me, so I never go in. I don't know why they're doing this.   
  
"This morning, I had two dreams with them which has never happened before. One of them even told me they were 'real'. I'm so confused as to why these guys, who are probably just figments of my imagination, are in my head."   
  
Grandma smiled. "I think it's a sign that you need to get out again."   
  
Callie looked at her in horror. "Get out again? As in having friends and doing fun things again?"   
  
"Of course." Grandma rolled her eyes. Her granddaughter had been a hermit for so long, she sounded confused as to what fun meant.   
  
"I think I forgotten how" Callie replied, miserably. "It's not that I don't want to. I took care of Mama for so long that nothing else mattered to me."   
  
"Callie, listen to me. You were a great caretaker for your mother. You never left her side the entire time she was sick. But, honey, she's not here anymore. She wouldn't want you to live like this for the rest of your life."   
  
Tears gleamed off Callie's eyelashes. She knew Grandma was right. It was all too clear in front of her face, but never close enough for her to grasp. She wiped the wetness from her eyes. "I better get ready for work."   
  
***   
  
"I wonder if Callie is asleep yet?" Dutchy mused.   
  
The others didn't have time to respond. The alarm didn't even go off before they found themselves fading into a dream. It was an emergency.   
  
"Does that answer your question?" Pie Eater asked, pointing to Devil's Cave. Callie was standing directly in front of it, creeping toward the evil cave.   
  
"She's going in it by herself" Bumlets pointed out the obvious.   
  
Specs' mouth hung open. "I can't believe she's doing it."   
  
"Come on, Callie. You can do it." Dutchy cheered her on, under his breathe.   
  
It seemed forever for her to reach the entrance, but she made it. All too soon, the victory was crushed. The burning flames spewed wider catching Callie by surprise. She fell to the ground, curling into a ball. Dutchy rushed to her side, and scooped her up - running back to the others. They all gathered around her as Dutchy laid her on the ground.   
  
"Please, don't make me go back there! It will hurt me! I don't want to go!" Callie cried, eyes closed and head thrashing. She had no knowledge of anything but the nightmare she had just faced.   
  
"Callie, it's all right" Dutchy told her, smoothing her hair.   
  
"We're here, Cal. You don't have to be scared" Bumlets said.   
  
"I want Mama. Why did she have to die?"   
  
Shock suddenly halted any movement or words. The four exchanged stunned expressions. All too soon, the scene melted away and they were back in their room.   
  
"Did you hear what she said?" Pie Eater asked right away.   
  
"That has to be the horrible thing she went through" Bumlets concluded. They'd heard of death before...when someone goes away and never comes back.   
  
Dutchy plopped down in his chair, and ran his hands through his hair. "Now I really wish I could be there for her."   
  
"What's going on here?!" a voice demanded. The four let out yelps of surprise, and spun around. Callie was there. 


	3. Chapter 1: Dream Reality

Writer note: I am not at home right now, but have been given the previlage to get online! I wrote this chapter on "notepad" so it's hard for me to check for any mispellings or whatnot. Sorry if is's a little messy! I'm glad I got this part done. Dude, do I like this fic! It's becoming one of my faves alongside my Delancey sister fic. Enjoy!!!  
  
Kora: You finally got the connection??? LOL. Yeah, I'd like to write an original story with this plotline. I am totally having fun with it.  
  
San Antonio Rose: Yep, all the unexplained will be explained later! I been wanting to email you, but I'd been gone. I adore your "pray for the monkees" site!!! It is the best! I'm gonna go read some of your LotR fics. Hoy...I'm stuck on LotR fics right now. Dear me!  
  
***  
  
"Callie?" Dutchy sputtered out. He turned to Specs. "Is she still dreaming?"  
  
"I don't know" Specs shrugged, sounding baffled.  
  
"I didn't know the Other Realm people could come into the Dream World" Pie Eater said as they talked like Callie wasn't there.  
  
"Excuse me" she interrupted. "I was wondering why in the world am I here and who are you guys?! You been in my dreams constantly for months."  
  
They all found the floor oddly interesting all the sudden. Callie folded her arms and waited on the edge of inpatience.  
  
"We're dream people" Dutchy finally answered.   
  
"And, you're in the Dream World" Bumlets continued.  
  
Callie didn't look amused. "That really explained a lot." She paused. "Wait. I must be dreaming again. Maybe if I pinch myself..." she did, but felt a numb pain. "That didn't work. Okay, self, wake up. It's time to get up. Merciful heavens, Callie, wake up!!!"  
  
"You're not going to wake up" Specs randonly interrsepted.  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because you're already awake."  
  
That froze everything. Callie stared intensely at the four as if seeing them for the first time. She stepped forward, one foot after the other until she was directly in front of them. She raised her hand, and touched Dutchy's cheek. He flushed, a small smile spreading over his lips. Her left hand raised to connect with Bumlets' shouler, and ran down to his hand. She moved to touch Specs and Pie Eater next. They were real. Plain as day.  
  
"How is this possible?" she asked in amazement.  
  
"That's what we're trying to figure out ourselves" Bumlets replied.  
  
"Yeah, we never had a real person in the Dream World before" Pie added.  
  
"If you can't answer that, then why are you trying to get me into that cave?" She looked straight at Dutchy. He was always with her at the entrance of Devil's Cave. There had to be some explaination.   
  
Dutchy lowered his head in shame. "We don't know either."  
  
"Oh." Callie frowned.  
  
"Callie" Dutchy started, looking up at her. "I have to tell you, we know you're lonely. We can feel it. We can't be with you in the Other Realm, but we're still here for you even if you can only be with us in your dreams."  
  
"Thank you." She choked back tears. "I wish you guys could come to my world. You'd like it."  
  
"Oh!" Pie suddenly exclaimed. "Can you tell me what soccer is?"  
  
Callie's smile crept back on her face. "Of course. It's a sport you play with two teams who try to take control of a ball to kick into a goal."  
  
Pie Eater was in awe...though he didn't really understand all she said.  
  
"What's dancing?" Bumlets asked next. "I have had urnings for it."  
  
"Let me show you. Take my hand." Callie held out her hand which Bumlets looked at in confusion, but took it anyway. She started dancing to a tune in her head taking him along for the ride. He caught the hang of it almost instantly as if knowing destinctively what to do.  
  
"That was great!" Bumlets said, grinning ear to ear.  
  
"You danced like you have for years." Bumlets blushed.   
  
"Callie" Specs caught her attention, surprisingly. She turned to him. "I want to do an impression, but I don't know how..."  
  
"An impression? Of what?"  
  
Specs shrugged. "I was hoping you'd know."  
  
Callie laughed at the answer, and tried to think of something. "Well, you could do an impression of a person. Like I do a whacked impression of Elvis."  
  
"Isn't that the greasy headed guy who talks weird?" Pie asked, scrunching his face.  
  
"Yes, that happens to be him! Here I go." She got into Elvis 'stance' and did a horrible impersonation of him. "Thank you, thank you very much. Uh huh."  
  
The post fab four busted into peels of laughter. "Now we know the real Callie" Bumlets joked.  
  
"I think I know what to do now!" Specs told them in excitement. He cleared his throat and talked in a way the other three would of never expected from the usual 'serious' Specs. "Ya darn toottin', Andy!" It was Barney Fife.  
  
"Where did that come from???" Pie asked, stunned and slightly confused.   
  
"You just did an impression of Don Knotts from the Andy Griffath Show!" Callie announced, smiling. She turned to Dutchy...the quiet of the four. He just stood there shining down at her. "What is it you want to know? The Genie will grant you one wish."  
  
He shook his head. "All I want to know is if I can be your friend..."  
  
Callie's smile faded into a contented expression, amazed and saddened at his words. She took his hand. "Yes, you can be my friend. All four of you. You're the only ones I have." The happy mood drew to a close as reality formed back into their minds. "I'm going to have to leave, arn't I?"  
  
They hung their heads. "Yeah, you are...sooner or later" Dutchy answered. Everything paused.  
  
"I think sooner" Specs interrupted the silence. "The alarm is about to go off."  
  
Callie took in all four faces, but landed on Dutchy's somber face. "I don't want to leave you guys" she said desperately. "Please, there has to be some way I can stay. I don't want to go back!"   
  
"Callie, it's all right" Dutchy pleaded with her. She held tightly to his hands, not letting go as the gray covered her. In a matter of seconds, she was gone.  
  
***  
  
Her breathing was rised as the memories threw her awake. Callie jolted up. It was still dark out. "Merciful heavens..." she murmured. "That was the most real dream I had. Anymore of this and I'll never to sleep again. Why couldn't they be real?!"  
  
"Callie" a weak voice caught her attention. She sat up again, flipped on her lamp, and looked to her side. Dutchy lay next to her, dazed and losed.   
  
"Oh my stars..." she mumbled in totally shock.  
  
***  
  
muhahaha...I've gotten away with so many cliffhangers for this fic. I am enjoying that fact ;) Thank you to everyone who has been reading!!! Stay tune next time :D 


	4. Chapter 1: Dream Reality

Writer notes: I don't think I've mentioned how old Callie is yet. She's 21, if anyone was wondering. Thank you once again to everyone who has been reading this fic. I'm glad you like it :) I'm enjoying writing it :P  
  
***  
  
"Dutchy" Callie finally breathed. She reached out and touched his blonde hair, spooking her to the point of falling off the bed. She hit the concrete floor with a dull thud.  
  
"Callie! Are you all right?" Dutchy peeked over the edge of the bed.  
  
"Yeah" she answered, rubbing her tail bone. "I'll live." She stood up with his help then blushed realizing she was in her night clothes.  
  
"Is this the Other Realm?" Dutchy asked in wonder, peering around her room.  
  
Callie stepped over to her closet to retrieve a long, knit coat to cover up with. "Yep, it is. Welcome to my room." She smiled, Dutchy mirroring her.   
  
"I'm here! You brought me back with you!"  
  
"I did?"  
  
Dutchy's ecstatic smile faded slightly at her surprised tone. "How else would I of gotten here? You were in the Dream World with us and you somehow brought -me- here..." he trailed off remembering his three friends although they seemed more like brothers than anything. He looked around again just to make sure the others weren't there.  
  
"Bumlets, Pie Eater, and Specs aren't here" Callie noted the obvious. She looked Dutchy straight in the face. "You're the only one I held on to when I was transported back."   
  
Dutchy's bright face turned gray, and his eyes averted to the floor. Callie's heart broke at his saddened look, she felt the need to give him a warm hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"Maybe we can bring them here somehow."  
  
"I don't know, Callie." He pulled away slightly to look at her. "What if I have to go back?"  
  
Callie gaped at him with fear and sorrow covering her face. What if them meeting was all a big flook and he had to go back to his world just as she had to? They just stared at one another, cemented in their thoughts of the present future.  
  
"Ahem..." came an old voice from the hallway. They were thrusted from their thoughts, and all attention fell on the presence at the door. "Callie, how in the cotton pickin' fields did you find a boy only a few hours after we talked???"  
  
"Grandma, trust me, it's not that at all" Callie replied in a tone higher than she normally spoke.   
  
"I'd say it looks that way with your arms around that boy on your -bed-."  
  
Callie quickly dropped her arms from Dutchy, but as quickly removed his from her shoulders. Dutchy finally noticed the tension building. "Callie, are we in trouble? I shouldn't be in this world, should I?"  
  
"It's okay, Dutchy. My grandma is misunderstanding." She stood, walking to the hallway. "That's one of the boys from my dreams."  
  
Grandma snorted.  
  
"It's true! I brought him back to our world somehow. I don't know if he'll have to go back to the Dream World or not. I hope not." Desperation overcame her almost to the point of tears.   
  
Grandma glared at Callie then at Dutchy. He looked like a lost puppy outside his fence. "I can't believe I'm going to believe this radical story." Callie looked relieved.  
  
"Now, I need to figure out how to bring the other three here."  
  
Dutchy appeared at her side. "I think the answer lies in sleep."   
  
Callie smiled. "I think you're right."  
  
Even though the sun had risen high in the sky in the morning hours, Callie lay in her bed with the curtains still drawn and Dutchy at her side - watching her pass into sleep once again. 


	5. Chapter 1: Dream Reality

It roared before her. Callie shielded her eyes from the intense brightness and heat. She was at Devil's Cave, the place filled with nightmares she had no memory of. Something was drawing her towards the Cave. She needed to go in there if she liked it or not. It had to be done!  
  
Callie moved hesitantly to the fire. It seemed to burn higher and hotter the closer she came. She stepped back in fright, cringing at the feeling of her skin throbbing. But, she didn't run away. Not this time. Something in there needed her.  
  
All the sudden, Callie raced into the flames. The blaze engulfed her, and ultimate darkness fell upon her sight as if a door shut away the flames. Callie hung to her knees, breathing heavy. No pain she felt. She'd made it finally into the dreaded Cave. She stood, reaching out for anything solid to grasp. There was nothing. She decided to inch along straight ahead hoping to encounter anything besides the dense blackness.   
  
She'd only gone a few steps when a small glow appeared in a distance. "Hello?" Callie called, but no one answered. She walked forward to the glow, but the more she approached, the farther it became. "Please, can you help me!" Callie became desperate, and broke into a run - following the glow to who-knew-where. It felt like hours she'd ran, pointlessness began to creep in her mind.   
  
Her running was not in vain. A gleaming light flashed in front of her, stopping Callie in her tracks. She started to shield her eyes, but found the light elegant instead of harmful to her sight. It shone brilliantly before her, and melted into shape. The light around the figure faded and disappeared to reveal HER.   
  
"Mama..." Callie murmured. "...your dead."  
  
"You know where I am, but I'm also in your memory. You have to find the need to carry on."   
  
"But how?"  
  
"They need you..."   
  
With that, the scene fused to another entrance to the Cave. This time it was peaceful, opening to a woodsy area. She walked out, and was greeted by an excited yelp.   
  
"Callie, you made it!" Pie Eater said, running to her with Bumlets and Specs.   
  
"You're here!" she yelled back.   
  
"We knew you could do it!" Bumlets said.   
  
They all embraced...  
  
***  
  
"Together forever" Callie mumbled in her sleep. The comforting warmth of the evening sun shone through her window. She woke, her mind still on the dream and her accomplishments in it. But after looking around, she found her room empty. "Where are they?" She rushed through her old beach house, but coming up fruitless.   
  
She stepped onto her back porch. The waves were crashing upon the shore. The beach was vacant though...as lonely as she felt. "They're not here. It was all a deceiving dream. Dutchy..." she heaved miserably. Tears pricked her eyes, threatening to burst. She pulled her knees to her chest, and lowered her head.   
  
" It's all right, Callie. You'll see." The voice was so close in her memory, yet so far from her. "Callie. Callie?" A hand touched her shoulder.   
  
"Grandma, there's nothing you can do for me. Please leave me alone."  
  
"I can't do that."  
  
Callie snapped her head up. Standing around her were four guys. Her guys. For several seconds, Callie stayed still from shock and maybe disbelief that they were just mirages in her tear-blurted sight. But, Dutchy knelt down and ran a hand over her hair.   
  
"We're all here and will never leave you again."  
  
A smile wider than the Mississippi cross Callie's face. She pulled Dutchy into a tight hug.   
  
"Awww...aren't they cute?" Pie Eater remarked, innocently.   
  
Callie looked at them, and waved her hand. "C'mere, you three are welcome too!"   
  
The other three sat on the step with her and Dutchy. They hugged, talked, and just sat there enjoying one another's company long into the drafty night. That was the beginning of the new life for all of them.   
  
***  
  
Yep, it is done! BUT, for those who are enjoying this fic, I am continuing it in a series of story chapters! 


	6. Chapter 2: Adjustments

Disclaimer: The proper names I use belong to the actors from Newsies/Roundhouse.   
  
***  
  
Chapter 2: Adjustments   
  
Thanksgiving came. It was a more thankful celebration than it had been in the past. The guys had only been in the Other Realm for two weeks. It'd been a wild ride for Callie. The four were constantly going, wanting to know about everything around them. They had a ((insert sarcasm here)) fun time convincing Grandma of who the four were. After much debating and begging, Grandma allowed them to stay. Callie moved into Grandma's room, and the guys crowded her room: Dutchy and Specs sharing the only bed, Pie Eater on an air mattress, and Bumlets on a cot from the thrift store.   
  
The thrift store found a lot of business that day Callie brought the guys there. They bought two bags full of clothes, hats, shoes, and - of course - the cot. It was there that they came to the problem of proper names. They'd always been known as just Bumlets, Specs, Pie Eater, and Dutchy in the Dream World. They needed more than that now. So, Callie broke out a name book.   
  
"I like this name" Pie Eater exclaimed, grinning. "Demothi!"  
  
Callie shook her head, and held back a laugh. "I don't think that'd work for you, Pie. Can you pick another one?"  
  
"All right." He looked at the book again. "I like David."  
  
"Hey, wait, I want to be David!" Specs said.  
  
"But I want it!"   
  
They got into a skirmish until Callie interceded with solution. "Since Pie claimed it first, why not let him use David has his first name and Specs, you use it as your last name." They agreed after much thought.   
  
"Reginald is a nice name" Bumlets said.   
  
"Bumlets, maybe you should pick something more Spanish. You have that nationality in your looks" Callie replied, and explained what 'nationality' meant since the guys had no clue.   
  
"Is Dominic okay?" he asked a minute later.   
  
Callie nodded. "Yeah, that fits you." She turned to Dutchy who was sitting quietly next to her staring intently at the name book. "You have a choice yet, Dutch?"  
  
He looked up, frowning. "No. I don't think any of these names fit me. What nationality did you say I could be?"  
  
"With the blonde hair and blue eyes - also judging from your name that you were given in the Dream World - mostly Scandinavian or even Russian."  
  
Dutchy scanned the list again and finally decided on, "Ivan. Sounds like a friendly name."  
  
"Sure it is." Callie laughed at the thought of 'Ivan the Terrible'. She'd keep that fact to herself. "I think it works for you. Specs, you have anything to go with your last name."  
  
"I want to be named after someone important" Specs explained thoughtfully, even though he didn't know anyone important in the Other Realm. "How about this? Mark: author of the New Testament book, The Gospel According to Mark. Sounds important enough to me."  
  
"Then you're Mark!" Callie burst out.   
  
The guys decided on their full names, and they were known as David Sidoni, Dominic Lucero, Ivan Dudensky, and Mark David. Callie, however, called them by what she knew them as. They're Dream World names would always be their real names to her. As for technical stuff like personal identification or social security cards, well, I'll just leave that up to the imagination.   
  
Another problem was about hats. The guys all had a different hat they wore almost constantly in the Dream World. It was like an extended part of them. Callie had no problem with it, it's just they couldn't wear they're hats -everywhere-. Wearing a large bowler type as Specs had was kind of awkward especially while walking on a beach or anywhere around Pensacola. Callie had to bargain, and introduce the guys to a new kind of hat to them - baseball caps.   
  
One day the guys were flipping through the channels on the television. It was a bad idea to have introduced them to the boob-tube, Pie and Specs had become hooked. Callie strolled in from work, she cooked at a restaurant called Maguire's, to find the two vegging out. "Have you two even gotten up today?"  
  
"Of course, we have!" Pie replied then lifted a glass full of chocolate milk. "We had to get up to get more milk!"  
  
Callie rolled her eyes, and kicked off her shoes. "That doesn't count."  
  
"Hey Callie, guess what comes on three times a day!" Specs said in excitement. His voice had a more lighter tone now, not all deep and serious sounding. "Barney Fife! He's hilarious!" He broke out into a perfect impression. "I'm a lawman. That's my job, that's what I do."  
  
"You're getting better at that everyday." She looked around. "Where's the others?"   
  
Pie answered. "Grandma went to visit Mrs. Earline down the road. Dutchy and Bumlets are outside somewhere."  
  
"Thanks." Callie walked to the back door, proceeding outside. It was a beautiful evening on the beach. The sun was slowly sinking farther to the water. The waves were calm and gently lapping at the shore. A flock of seagulls lay in a monstrous patch down the way. She looked out towards the water to see Dutchy and Bumlets squashing in the waves. She just stood there watching them, thinking of how things changed so quickly.   
  
Callie and her mother had lived in the old brick beach house on Pensacola Beach since Callie was a little girl. Her grandparents had bought it after retirement, but Grandpa had died in a car wreck a couple years after they moved in. Four years ago, the most dreadful news hit Callie...cancer. The doctors had tried everything, but the cancer had spread rapidly in such a short amount of time. Her mother battled ovarian cancer until it finally won six months ago. Now these four guys from her dreams were with her, and she'd brought them there!   
  
"Hey Callie!" Dutchy and Bumlets shouted from the shore. She waved back at them.   
  
It was too good to be true. 


End file.
